Shining a “Spotlight” on Investigative Journalism
A new full-length feature film shines a “Spotlight” on the commitment of The Boston Globe’s investigative staff to publishing an accurate story, but also the importance of local journalism.
The film, opening in select theaters today, is a thrilling true story featuring the investigative reporting staff at The Boston Globe — which goes by the name Spotlight — and their discovery of a cover-up of years-long, unchecked abuse within the Catholic Church.
The film has an all-star cast, including Oscar nominated actor Michael Keaton and Golden Globe winning actor Mark Ruffalo. The cast was advised throughout filming by the actual Globe journalists who broke the story in 2002.
The film chronicles the events leading up to the publication of the initial Globe story, which was the first to report on the scandal. The movie follows Globe Spotlight reporters and editors, including Walter Robinson, Michael Rezendes, Sacha Pfeiffer and then-new editor Marty Baron, who initially proposed that the team look into the Catholic Church. It is around these journalists that the film builds a compelling story that lends itself to the format of a full-length feature film.
The film has been on the film festival circuit the last several months, where it has received positive acclaim. It will open across the country over the coming weeks. To find release dates and theaters in your area visit http://spotlightmovietheaters.com/.
The History Project: Storytelling in the Digital Age
A new tool to help people curate their memories across the physical and digital spaces is coming to fruition. The History Project received $2 million in funding to launch its storytelling platform, with the highest contribution coming from The New York Times Company.
With the tool, users will be able to preserve their history through pulling content from the various sources where they store it, including digital and mobile sources such as social media. Living in a digital age we often store photos, memories, mementos and other information in multiple and increasingly digital locations, making it logistically challenging to tell the bigger stories of how people, places and events impacted our lives. Each source on only tells part of the larger story.
The History Project, described as a modern time capsule, offers a solution, bringing the physical and digital worlds together by digitizing tactile content, which can then be easily integrated with digital content and cloud storage, using online and mobile tools.
The platform has already attracted some celebrities and media looking to chronicle important historical events and document current activities that will become part of a larger history.
The History Project also offers a Concierge service at an extra charge that provides assistance for users looking to personalize their story.
Wall Street Journal Launches 360 Video, Virtual Reality Pairing
The Wall Street Journal is taking its storytelling to a new level through introducing 360-degree video and virtual reality (VR) into its mobile apps.
Mobile users with the latest versions of iOS and Android can enjoy 360 video without the need for additional apps or expensive hardware. Mobile virtual reality users just need a VR viewer, such as a cardboard viewer. The Journal partnered with Vrideo, Inc., for the desktop experience, which leverages Oculus headsets. WSJ provides instructions on how to view 360 video content and VR content on its website.
In its first application of the new technology to a story, WSJ takes viewers behind-the-scenes with ballerina Sarah Lane as she prepares to take the stage at the American Ballet Theatre in New York.
The Journal first introduced VR in April; however, the new technology combines VR with 360 video for the first time.
The Journal will be putting the new technology to use in a new journalism series that will be available soon, and it will also be open-sourcing the technology (which it developed in-house) later this year in order to enable other media organizations to offer VR storytelling.
Staff Updates:
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.: Frank Leto has been named publisher of The Daily Item of Sunbury and the Danville News. He will begin in his new roles on November 23.
He was previously publisher of the Sun-News (Las Cruces, NM) along with four associated papers. Leto, who has a newspaper advertising and marketing background, worked at the former Knight-Ridder Company (Fort Wayne, IN) and was vice president of classified for the Dallas Morning News. He also served in executive positions at newspapers in Florida, including the Herald Tribune Media Group.
Cox Media Group: Karen Bennett has been named Senior VP and Chief HR Officer at Cox Media Group, effective November 9.
Bennett previously served as Senior VP and Chief HR Officer for YP. Prior to joining YP in 2013, she was Senior VP of Human Resources for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. for nearly 14 years.
GateHouse Media:
Earl D. Baer has been named Vice President of sales at The Providence Journal. Baer was most recently director of digital sales for the Los Angeles Times Media Group.
Baer was previously director of sales for the Los Angeles Radio Group at CBS Radio, joining the company in 2011. Prior to that, he was director of sales for Internet Broadcasting Systems.
Scott Anderson has been named the new publisher of The Ames (IA) Tribune, effective November 9.
Anderson was previously President and Publisher with the Pioneer News Group in Driggs, Idaho. He also was regional Publisher of the Teton Valley News and Standard Journal and served as the Online Director of the Daily Herald (Provo, UT)
Lindsey is Director, Communications at the News/Media Alliance. She has over 15 years of experience working in communications for nonprofits.
